The Shepherd and his flock
by StarshipSailor
Summary: Captured and with no viable way out Harry takes his only chance at getting out of this alive…he joins the Dark Lord and is shown a wizarding world he truly never knew. 'The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness'


AN || Hello readers, This story is a little idea that keeps attacking my brain at random moments, so a have a lot of post-it notes with random story bits written down. I'm planning to make this a multi-chapter story and I'm hoping to write a lot more of it down fully before posting more. PS no beta so stupid mistakes are because I'm crap at reading though my stories and seeing them.

Oh quick sum up!

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Price according to my shiny new universe:

Yes Harry went to find the Horcrux with Dumbledore, yes the old coot is dying (but doesn't die at the end of the year) well, basically everything happened but the death eaters didn't move in on Hogwarts, Dumbledore didn't die and Harry's obsession with Malfoy is paranoia but is also teenage curiosity…yeah that's how I sneak in the Harry get with Draco thing…Don't worry they don't jump in the sack for a while and Draco isn't even mentioned in this post so calm down and just read on…

o0o

Harry struggled against the cold heavy cuffs around his wrists, glowing dully with pulsing magic. He didn't know what the magic was for or what it was doing but it was unnerving to see it move about the cuffs like a sentient being. The cuffs were attached to the cold damp wall he was rest against by thick metal chains that clinked and scrapped together as he struggled a little more. He'd been here for few days now, being fed by a stubbornly silent house elf that never said a word to him and only bowed before leaving.

Karma, it seemed, was a vindictive bitch at heart. Harry had known his quiet sixth year would have huge consequences. With the only trouble being that he found out Dumbledore was slowly dying because of a Horcrux and that Snape had taken over his favorite lesson…Harry would still only admit to himself that, apart from Lupin, Snape was the only teacher who was competent at the subject. The end of strangely quiet school year and not even a whole week into his summer holidays, he had been snatched by some black cloud and dumped in this dungeon.

He hadn't seen a single witch or wizard in the whole time he'd been here but he had been fed three times a day, even if it had only been different flavoured soups with bread, and brought water with ever meal. It was strange really; he didn't feel like he was in danger, it was more of just an apprehensive feeling. He really just wanted to stretch his back, arms and leg out. Harry looked up at the large, heavy wooden door as he hear a charm cast over the lock and the wood begin to creak in protest as it was displaced from it's frame. He watched as someone, human at least, walked down the steps that lead to the dungeon floor and step into the fractured light that came through a small window with bars and, confusingly, a skylight also with bars.

Severus Snape.

Harry froze, just staring at the man's impassive face. His mind jumping to all sorts of conclusions but he tried to keep his heart from skipping a beat and his breathing normal. He wouldn't be the first to crack in the silence and he wouldn't provide Snape with the ego boost by letting the professor know that he was afraid. The man walked over to him with careful steps and locked eyes with Harry.

"I realize that you will have many questions but let me inform you now that I am not obliged to tell you anything, nor can I tell you anything. All will be revealed and answered in due time." As Snape stopped in front of him, Harry tensed and flinched slightly as the man reached for Harry. He magically unhooked the cuffs from the chain but left them locked. Harry immediately let his arms drop to his sides, letting the blood flow back into his arms and hands.

"Where am I? What do you want with me? Are you still working for Voldemort?" As soon as the name left his lips he was slapped across the face. The force turning his face and he saw someone was stood at the top of the stairs, light from the corridor creating a simple silhouette so that he couldn't make out who was stood watching them.

"You will respect those above your station Potter." There was a deep chuckle from the man stood in the door and Snape turned to him from his crouched position in front of Harry.

"Such a rebellious boy." The stranger chuckled and Harry's skin crawled. Voldemort himself was the stranger. Harry also clenched his jaw; he was not a child anymore, not a boy.

"I think Mister Potter is long over due for a tour of the other side don't you Severus?" Snape stood up to his full height and stared down at Potter.

"Yes my lord." Harry tensed even more and balled his hands into fists. They were going to kill him. Not like the movies where they drag it out long enough for the good guy to escape but actually, right now, kill him.

"Take him to his room and leave him with the house elves Severus. I believe you will be missed back at the school if you stay much longer." With that Voldemort glided out the room, leaving the door open.

"You shall follow me Potter. No wandering off and pathetic Gryffindor heroics, they'll not work." Harry gave a tight nod and rose to his feet, following Snape out of the dungeon. He frowned and had to blink a few times while his eyes got used to the morning sunlight pouring in from the arched windows lining the corridor.

They walked in silence as they climbed stairs and walked down corridors until they reached a reasonably sized parlour room. Harry was about to ask why his trunk and personal things where all piled up by a large floor to ceiling window when Snape walked across the room and opened up a set of doors to his left, leading into a well sized bedroom. Both rooms were decorated much like other regal wizarding places Harry had seen, what with antique furniture and stone walls decorated with tapestries or decorations, but the style through this house seemed to be more fresh and light then other places. Harry had to wonder what Voldemort was doing in a place like this.

"Your bedroom is here, bathroom through the next door and the house elves reply to a click of the fingers and a thought that you need a house elf." Snape clicked to demonstrate and nodded to the house elf before leaving the room with out another word.

The house elf stared at Harry skeptically and he put it down to the fact that he must look a right state after spending two days in a dungeon. He shrugged and followed the house elf as it guided him towards the bedroom and through to the bathroom.

-o0o-

An hour later and Harry was sat on the sofa in the parlour room, a tray of sandwiches, fruit and pumpkin juice sat on the coffee table as Harry slowly devoured his way through them. His suspicions of the food being poisoned faded after his first day in the dungeon with three poison-less meals. The elf that had shown up after Snape called it had made him get a bath and then given him clean clothes to change into. Now sporting white jeans, a blue jumper and black boots that reminded him of pirates, he officially felt out of his depth. What the heck was Voldemort playing at? He'd taken Harry's wand and left him in a dungeon for two days but gave him a bath and clean clothes now. There was a nock on the door but the person never waited for an answer before opening the door and stepping through into the room.

It was actually a group of people. Voldemort was the first to enter and Severus, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy followed him. Belletrix and wormtail were the last to enter and the worm closed the door behind him, leering at Harry from across the room. Voldemort didn't say a word as he sat down in the armchair closest to Harry. The man waited until Severus had walked around to stand behind his chair. Narcissa took the other armchair with Lucius stood by her, Belletrix was fidgeting stood off to the side as she glared at Severus. Wormtail stuck close to the door, not joining the group but listening intently. There was a moment's silence before Voldemort looked over to Harry.

"Was the food to your liking Potter?" The dark wizard asked casually, as though he truly wanted to know and wasn't keeping Harry here against his will. Harry stared blankly at him for a moment and if the situation weren't so life threatening he thought he would have burst out laughing. As it was he frowned and nodded slowly.

"Better then soup I suppose." He answered, referring to the last two days where every meal had been some different flavoured soup. Voldemort smirked and relaxed back into the chair even further.

"I would imagine so, but you must admit; the house elves do a fine range of soups." Harry didn't really know what to say to that. He kept flicking his eyes around the room; other then Belletrix's fidgeting and Wormtail's nervous ticks over by the door, everyone seems to be calm and even relaxed. Not threatening or dangerous though.

"I presume there are quite a few questions you would like answering?" Harry took that as his chance and sat forward.

"What do you want from me? Where am I? Where is here?" Voldemort held up his hand and Harry rolled his eyes, but he did stop.

"I want you to reach your full potential my boy. Your last two questions are the same so I shall just say you are in Malfoy Manor. A sanctuary of sorts that Lucius and Narcissa has so graciously opened up to me." Harry supposed where they were wasn't all that surprising really but Voldemort's reason for him being here was. He looked skeptically at the dark wizard.

"You want me to reach my full potential? What does that even mean?" Harry flicked his eyes up to Snape as he caught the man rolling his eyes at him but then looked back to the wizard sat in the armchair.

"It means you have been told a great many number of lies and your judgment has been clouded by one view and not been given the chance to see all of what is happening around you." Harry rolled his eyes at that. He couldn't really see a good side to killing muggles and keeping the two worlds totally separated.

"Some how I don't think we're ever going to see eye to eye. How did you manage to get to me? I thought the wards kept you away from the house." Harry's focus cut up to Snape, knowing the professor must have had something to do with it. Severus didn't move to speak though; again Voldemort spoke up.

"Potter I have known where you were from the beginning. As you now know, I also have had a way to get to you for sometime. Severus here was one of the ward weavers that built up the wards on your house. It was simple enough for him to get you out."

"Why now? Why not when I was a child and easy prey?" Voldemort sighed and looked over to Harry with what would be a frown, if the man had eyebrows.

"Potter you don't seem to understand. I do not want to kill you."

"So for the past six years you've just been, what? Welcoming me to the wizarding world?" Harry bit his tongue to keep from saying anymore. He had to remember he was in the presence of all those who, supposedly, want him dead. Voldemort gave him an indulgently evil smile and chuckled.

"Well I've been a little busy these past few years, and you will insist on getting in the way. The debacle of the philosopher's stone, the little misunderstanding with the diary. I mostly didn't have anything to do with the Dementor incident and I needed your help with getting my body back, you didn't have to fight me, I only wished to try out my new form."

"And the year before last? When my godfather was killed by her and you tried to kill me?" Belletrix giggled a little but that was quelled by Voldemort's glare.

"Your godfather was an unfortunate accident but I wasn't trying to kill you Potter. I was trying to convince you that the side of the light is the wrong path for you. That you should join us, at your rightful place by my side." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Voldemort had some twisted views on how the world should be, not to mention he'd tried to kill Harry numerous times, no matter what the mad man said. He couldn't really think Harry would just say 'ok yeah, I'll join the death eaters'.

"We of course do not expect you to just trust our word." Harry glared at Voldemort, realizing the man must be reading his thoughts. Again he caught Severus rolling his eyes at Harry.

"How exactly are you going to convince me to join you? The Imperius doesn't work." Voldemort looked over to Lucius and Harry followed his gaze. Narcissa looked up at her husband and the man put a comforting hand on her shoulder before nodding confidently to the Dark Lord.

"It is to my understanding that you have quite a few experiences with observing memories, with in a pensieve. Well today we're going to do things, a little differently." With that the man rose up and began walking out the room. Everyone began to follow him and Snape loosely grabbed Harry by the elbow, guiding him out of the room as well.

The all trekked down corridors and up stairs until they came to a circular room with high ceilings and thick-carpeted floors. The walls were covered in beautiful picture frames, some ornate and some very simply styled. None of them had magical painting or photos, not even un-moving ones. They were simply blank, the warm creamy yellow of the walls the background to every frame. There were sofas, chairs and tables lining the walls and in the middle of the room was a fountain, a large base but the spray was small and delicate.

"The Malfoy Ancestry Fountain. Every wizarding family old enough has one, pity there are barley any of the old family still holding on to their history enough to remember where their ancestral Fountains are." Voldemort said as Harry looked around the room and watched the water burst up and fall back down into the basin.

"The muggle world is a dark place, there is no lie in that. You yourself have been privy to that, just like I have. The wizarding world has also been the focus of that, it's why we keep ourselves separate from them. Why they never remember our existence and only speak f us as myths and characters from stories." Voldemort nodded to Lucius and the man began to speak in hushed tones over the fountain.

"Let me show you Harry, the horrors that one family has been through, at the hands of…muggles." He spat their name out with disgust as the room slowly filled with a damp mist. Their surroundings turned to woodland and trees cast a speckled patterns of light on the floor as the sun broke through the canopy.

"No!" there was gasping as someone ran for his or her life, coming closer to them. Angry shouts could be heard not far off and the breaking of branches and crunched dead leaves could be heard following the angry shouts.

Suddenly a girl ran past them, dressed in what Harry figured for medieval clothing and styled enough for Harry to realize she was from a rich family, her blond hair giving her away as a Malfoy. She was crying as she jumped over fallen trunks and spreading roots. The girl seemed younger then Harry, probably only eleven.

"Please goddess…don't let them get me. Please." She whimpered to herself, but suddenly there was a rustling close by and several men and women jumped out, grabbing her and pulling her into the middle of the group.

"You little witch! You've cursed my son!" One woman screamed at her, pulling on her hair. A who was holding her arm roughly pulled on it.

"You whispered enchantment in his ear and all he talks about now is getting an education! Reading and writing in stead of tending to the farm like he's supposed to!" The man was clearly the husband of the first woman but then another man who had hold of the girl snarled at her.

"You also cursed my son! He is not a murderer! He killed his best friend over a fight for your hand in marriage! You seduced them into fighting didn't you!" The little girl was a trembling, tear streaked down her face as they all push and pulled on her.

"Please! I don't know what you're talking about! I haven't cursed anyone!" She screamed desperately. The first man growled and shoved at her within their hold.

"You cursed my Jacob." The looked at him, hope shining in her eyes as she tried to reach the man with reason.

"J-Jacob only wants to learn so that he can help you. He-he wants to bring you more money. The only thing I told him was that he would need an education for that. I-I've not cursed anyone!" The man growled again.

"You have cursed him, you filthy witch!" The others around them growling and snarling their agreement with him.

"You murderer!" A woman shouted from beside the second man who had accused her."

"Please I didn't tell William to kill anyone! I- He and Edward were just my friends, I never said anything to them." She tried again to reason but they weren't listening.

"You lying, filthy heathen!"

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth where are you!" A man was frantically shouting. The group turned in fear to the sound of the new voice and then glared as they turned back to the girl.

"She's been calling to them!" Someone shouted from within the group other murmuring the same.

"Please no! It's- I'm late for my singing lessons. They're just out looking for me." The girl was weakly struggling now, knowing she couldn't get away. One of the men turned to her and leered.

"And they'll find you, little whore." She began to cry more as she saw the axe rise up in the man's hand.

"Please, no! I didn't-I'm sorry! Please I'm sorry! Don't-!"

There was a thud and then a heavier one, followed by a deathly silence. Everything in the forest seemed to fall silent then, and the only thing to be heard was the heavy breathing of the angry villagers and the growing voices calling for the little girl.

"Filthy witches." They all spit on the corpse and began to run away, fearfully looking back to make sure they were not caught by those looking for the girl, a chilling wind following them.

The mist began to thicken again but Harry could see a man, very similar looking to Lucius, find the body. He fell to his knees, chest heaving with desperate breaths, and he screamed. Desperation, loss and heartbreak filling Harry's ears as it all finally faded away. There was silence around the room and Harry noticed Lucius holding his wife gently as she took comfort from his embrace. Snape was stood beside him still but he too seemed effected by it.

"Muggles…are very fickle creatures. It is what makes them dangerous. The most fleeting of prompts can set them off, as individuals, as groups. They are so unpredictable."

"All humans are like that."

"Not all have turned their back on Mother Earth! Not all are in denial to the real world around them!" Voldemort rounded on Harry barely letting Harry finish his sentence.

"Their potential for destruction is twice as much as ours simply by their ignorance, their self-importance, their lack of all that makes us truly human."

"What about you! You think you have some god given right to rule over everyone! What makes you better then anyone else in this room!"

Instead of making Voldemort furious for answering back, the man smiled at him and came to stand in front of Harry.

"Not me Harry. I am but a half-blood with no powerful name behind me, all I have is stolen power from wizards long past. It is you who should be ruling this world." Harry frowned and looked suspiciously to Voldemort.

"Me? You want me to lead your death eaters?" Voldemort chuckled darkly and walked around the fountain.

"In time Potter, in time. For now you are simply too sheltered and naïve to the wizarding world around you to truly lead what I have built up for you."

"You built up for me? All this time you've been trying to kill me." Harry interrupted the man, confused by what he was saying. Voldemort looked mildly annoyed that he had been interrupted but turned to the window on the other side of the room.

"I find it hard to believe that you still take Dumbledore's word as the eternal gospels. Have you never wondered about the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts and Diagon Alley?" Harry frowned when he realized he was right. Ok, so he'd heard of places and people but he'd never been to them. Hogwarts taught the history of the wizarding world and events, people and place came up during lessons but he'd never looked into them further. Heck he didn't even know how a wizard left the country or an of the wizarding religions…if they had any religions.

"I can show you these things Harry. I can show you that Britain is falling. What I am fighting for is bigger then just Hogwarts or Dumbledore. I will show you how wrong that fool is and how much of a coward he is." Voldemort held a hand out to him from across the room.

"Let me take this summer to show you what Albus is keeping from you. Let me tell you everything, then you can decide what you really want to do." Harry glared stony faced at Voldemort, refusing to rise to the barb at his headmaster and took a deep breath.

"If I refuse to let you, you're just going to kill me now. If I let you show me then decide I still don't believe what you do, you'll still kill me." Voldemort nodded, not taking his eyes off of Harry.

"But if you let me, and you decided I am right. I shall lead you victory over the Order and you can take you place as leader of Wizarding Britain."

Harry didn't answer him. He swallowed and looked down. It was logical to see both sides right? This man was a killer, a murderer and a mad man…But, he didn't really have a choice did he? Maybe he could use this to his advantage as well…you know, when he actually figured out a plan that is.

"What are you afraid of? That what I show you will change your mind? That you'll end up supposedly betraying your friends?" Harry was visibly shaking now. It was true; he didn't want to think about the fact that he was going to say yes to Voldemort of all people. That he was going to change side, as it were, for the summer? How ridiculous was that? In a moment of desperation he turns to Snape and looks for a sign of what to do. The man raised an eyebrow at Harry's unasked question before nodding.

Dumbledore had asked him to keep an eye on the boy, like he had asked all the Order members, but Voldemort had also asked him to look after the boy while around the dumbling fool. Severus rolled his eyes as Harry gave a nod to him and then a more confident one to the Dark Lord.

For better or worse Harry had just committed himself to spending the summer with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.

o0o

AN || Like I said this will eventually be a Harry/Draco pairing. I have nothing more written up on this but was hoping to see if there was anyone who would like me to continue this? I have other story ideas and can continue with those if this doesn't interest anyone, I mean, who wants to write a boring story right? So let me know what you think.


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